Ultramarine
by jato unit
Summary: incomplete . AU . RoyEd . It had just started out as a simple trip to the beach, but in the end it had turned into something Prince Roy Mustang had least expected.
1. Chapter One

**AN:** Oh my. Sami has really done it this time. She has overdosed on fluffy RoyEd fanfiction and needs a way to let it all out. So, she has decided to do an insanely fluffy RoyEd comedy. Besides, it's about time I wrote something on the lighter side of the spectrum. So maybe it is a bit of procrastination, but whatever. The plot bunny has struck and it commands me to write, so I shall. Oh. This is AU by the way, so remember that, mmkay?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-1-**

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Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a prince, who was deemed the most stunning in all the land. His lustrous raven hair and dazzling onyx eyes could take any woman's – or man's – breath away instantly. Even his smile could make the receiver faint dead on the spot. In short, the prince was very popular amongst the populace – he even had his own fan club. Yes, the prince was indeed very handsome, drop-dead gorgeous even, but he wasn't happy. Far from it actually.

Now, one must wonder why a man blessed with such an amazing appearance and such an extravagant lifestyle would be unhappy. Not even his parents understood what the basis for this despondency was. The young prince was to inherit the throne after his father's death and was to be wed to the equally magnificent Princess Riza in less than a half a year – in 3 months to be exact. There were plenty of men who would give _anything_ to live the life the prince lived.

Yes. The prince may be absolutely marvelous, charming, intelligent, and aesthetically pleasing to boot, but there was also arrogance, stubbornness, spoiling, and ambitiousness lurking underneath that perfect facade. It was not an exaggeration to say that the prince had an ego that was large enough to be mistaken for a continent – possibly an entire hemisphere! That ego didn't like to be deflated either. It was always his way or no way and the prince was intending to keep it that way.

It is now time to return to the source of the heir to the throne's unhappiness. Actually, it was quite simple really. He did not want to be married to the Princess. It was as simple as that. Of course it wasn't her appearance that set him off, the prince was more than happy to have such a beautiful lady as his queen-to-be. No. It was her stoic and serious personality that set him off. Then there was also the fact that he wasn't the one choosing who his bride was. One of the prince's pet peeves: having things decided for him. So really, there was really no mystery about the gloom surrounding him.

The reason behind this arranged marriage? Well, the prince's kingdom and the princess' had been on poor terms ever since an incident long ago – no one even remembered really what had sparked the dislike between the two – so the two royal families figured that if their heirs got married then the dispute would be settled and order would be restored. The prince had snorted at the mere idea of it. In his opinion, it was a plan that was stupid beyond belief.

Oh! The prince's name? Why, it was Roy. Yes. Prince Roy Mustang.

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It was the first of July and the kingdom of Armestris was flourishing, basking in the sun's hot rays. The sky was blue, dotted with a few puffy white clouds, and the ocean was even bluer. Waves crashed gently against the sandy coast, the white foam rolling over the soft sand. The air was thick with the heat, but thankfully the humidity had been kept at bay and a cool breeze was always about just in case the heat became too much. Plants and animals were more alive than ever. Flowers of every color blossomed and grew. Animals of every shape and size scurried about, enjoying the long summer days.

The people were thriving. It wasn't hard to enjoy life at the moment. More than often the terraces of restaurants and cafes would be crowded, filled to the brim with men, women, and children. No one wanted to be inside as the salty sea air was fresh and comforting. That and the smells of freshly brewed teas were far to enticing to resist.

Yes. Tea. Armestris was famous for its tea. Some of the best breweries in the entire world were located right in the kingdom. Travelers from all over would flock to Armestris to see if the rumors were true. They never left disappointed.

However, there was one person in the kingdom that wasn't enjoying this pleasurable day. If you guessed Prince Roy, then you had struck the nail dead on the head. The prince was sulking in his own gloom again. What a surprise.

Prince Roy's lips were pulled into a tight frown as he gazed out his bedroom window. It was just another day going by, bringing him closer the dreadfully close marriage. He shuddered when he thought about the idea of committing himself to one woman for life. After all, he was still young, only in his early twenties, and not ready for such a big leap. Roy couldn't help but think of marriage as jumping off a cliff only to discover that there wasn't any net to catch you like you had first thought. Marriage was a scary thing.

He sighed and let his chin rest in the upturned palm of his right hand, elbow resting on the window ledge. The hustle and bustle of the streets below drifted up to reach his ears, reminding him of the kingdom he would soon rule. This in itself was not too bad at all. Actually, Roy couldn't wait to claim the throne. His frown quickly turned into a smirk when he thought about the changes he was going to implement, one of them involving tiny miniskirts and women – a personal favorite of his.

A sudden knock at his bedroom door snapped him out of his wonderful reverie and the scowl returned to his features. Roy also hated to be bothered. That was another one of his pet peeves. He let out an aggravated sigh.

"Come in," he said dryly, dragging out each syllable in hopes of conveying his irritation. It was just his luck that it was Lord Maes at the door. Let's just say that Maes wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box.

"Hiya, Roy!" the young man said cheerfully as he pushed open the door and barged in, completely oblivious to the prince's usual foul mood. The lord sported a grin so wide that Roy found it a miracle that the man's face hadn't split in two. Yet, that grin couldn't help but make the prince feel uneasy. He only ever saw that grin when-

"Look at these pictures of Elysia! Isn't she just too cute!" Maes squealed, flashing his latest batch of photographs. Roy winced as Hughes continued to babble on about his baby daughter. The prince was subjected to this almost every day if not more. It had become a sort of event built into his schedule. Wake up. Sulk. See Hughes' latest photos. Sleep. It happened so often that Roy should probably have figured out how to avoid it.

"Yes, she's wonderful," Roy said, voice slightly strained, but not as much as the fake smile he had put on for his friend's sake. Of course, Maes didn't notice this either.

"I know! She's just too precious for words!" The young man let out another squeal of joy before promptly kissing on the larger photographs. "Just think, Roy! Soon you'll be having kids of your own!"

'_Oh damn_.'

Roy had been hoping to avoid this conversation at all costs. It had been hard enough all the years Maes had been trying to get him to find a wife, but now he was going to bother him about kids too? The prince didn't want to think about kids right now. He was too young to have to deal with screaming mongrels. Roy had baby cousins. He knew what devil spawn was.

"Think, Roy! Elysia would have a playmate!" Hughes exclaimed enthusiastically, not even noticing the pleading expression on Roy's face. The prince wished that his friend had been blessed with the ability to sense people's emotions, or at least a muzzle, but sadly, not all wishes come true.

"Yeah. Great," the prince replied dully before tuning out the rest of Hughes' ramblings and settling for staring out the window again. Of course, everything was relatively alright until Maes' words reached his brain instead of going in ear and out the other.

"But remember to use protection if you're not ready for kids. Condoms are your friends. "

"Hughes!" Roy snapped, spinning around to face his friend, face flushed. The heat had rushed to his cheeks in 3.21 seconds, a new record. Hughes would have to right that down later. The young lord's grin grew and he darted off towards the door, leaving a fiery faced Roy behind.

"See ya!" Hughes said brightly, giving the prince a quick, light wave before scurrying off to bother some of the palace guards with his photos. Poor souls.

The prince growled softly under his breath as he turned to face the refreshing breeze in hopes that it would cool down his flaming red cheeks. However, much to the prince's irritation, the wind had managed to change direction slightly. It was no longer blowing towards his open window. Instead it blew right past and into the distance. This only irritated Roy even more.

"Stupid Hughes. Stupid wind," he grumbled, pushing himself away from the window. The prince then began to pace, but the color did not drain away – he had inspected himself multiple times in the tall ornate golden mirror that hung on his wall. He cursed rather loudly, not really caring if anyone heard. Though he immediately regretted it when he heard another knocking at his door.

"Who is it?" he spat venomously. Hopefully whoever was at the door this time would catch wind of the prince's anger. Well, they did because there was a loud 'Eep!' in response.

"U-um… I-is everything alright Y-Your H-Highness?" a timid voice asked from the other side of the door. Roy immediately identified the owner of the voice, Kain Fuery, one of the palace guards.

"Yeah. You sound a little pissed," another voice asked before muttering softly, "Not that you aren't always pissed." This earned Kain's elbow being shoved into the owner's side. Now, this voice Roy could identify easily enough as well, Jean Havoc, another one of the palace guards.

"I'm fine," the prince replied. "Just leave me alone."

"Fine! Fine!" Havoc replied. "We'll leave you to sulk, but you might want to take a walk or something to cool off." There was a small pause. "Hothead," he muttered before 'oofing' as Fuery elbowed him again.

"Don't talk to the prince like that!" Kain hissed.

"Whatever," Havoc replied.

"We're s-sorry to have d-disturbed you!" Fuery squeaked before running off, Havoc in tow.

Roy sighed again for the umpteenth time and thought about the suggestion Havoc had made. A walk? He might as well give it a shot. It was about time he left the palace anyways. If he stayed inside much longer he'd become claustrophobic.

So that settled it. The prince promptly left his room, skillfully sneaking past the guards – the last thing he needed was an escort – and out of the palace. By now the heat in his face had subsided almost completely, but Roy was sure that his cheeks were still rosy. The walk should clear that up.

He wandered down the streets, past shops filled with every item imaginable, restaurants, and of course people. Roy put on his princely act, smiling and greeting anyone who happened to acknowledge his presence – pretty much everyone he passed. It seemed as if the moodiness had evaporated and there was only happy Prince Roy.

It didn't take the prince long to push past the crowds and move down towards the beach, which was surprisingly deserted half the time. There was a reason behind this, but Roy found it absurd, even more absurd than the plan his parents had come up with. He found it so incredulous that he refused to believe it or even think of it, so he went about his business and visited the beach whenever he so damn well pleased, as if some old sea man's tale was going to scare him off.

He pulled off his boots and socks, letting his toes dig into the warm sand. Roy frowned when he looked down at the rest of his attire, which was most definitely high class and much too warm for the summer heat. He looked around, just making sure that no one else was around. Seeing that no one was, the prince stripped down to his simple beige britches and white sleeveless undershirt, dumping the rest of his garments in a heap on the sand.

A happy breath left him and the cool breeze caressed his hot skin. Freedom was such a nice thing. Roy then moved towards the ocean, letting the lukewarm water wash over his feet for a moment as he just stared out towards the horizon. The cries of seagulls mixed with the crashing of the waves upon the shore and the wind. It was all so soothing. Maybe he should take walks more often.

The prince soon became bored with staying still and began to walk down along the shoreline, eventually reaching a nice stretch of flat rocks that made perfect tide pools. Roy amused himself by examining the contents of each pool before reaching the farthest rock, the one that jutted out into the sea.

Roy winced as his bare foot scraped against the rock's jagged surface. He ignored the stinging and continued on, but not before noticing that something had cut into the rock to create that jaggedness. The prince couldn't help but wonder what. He figured that the most logical explanation was erosion. Water and wind were both very destructive elements.

When he reached the edge of the rock, he sat down and examined his injured foot. There was a nice long scrape along the bridge of his foot and blood was trickling out of the wound. It wasn't serious, but the stinging was driving the prince insane. He let his feet dangle into the sea. The water would help with the cut in any case.

The prince remained seated for quite some time, feet in the water. He had actually just been about to get up and leave when he heard a few pebbles be kicked along and a dull smack. Roy frowned and had just been about to turn around when a sudden bright white light blinded him.

He let out a cry, immediately scrunching his eyes shut as a terrible pain rippled through him. It felt like thousands of white hot knives were biting into his flesh, pushing past skin, muscle, bone, everything. He pitched forwards, not remembering if it had been of his own accord or if someone else had given him a little push. Roy shuddered, suddenly feeling very cold, like ice. He gasped. It felt as if his airway had been closed off.

The prince cracked his eyes open, bubbles clouded his vision for a moment, but soon there was an intense stinging. Roy tried to yell, but nothing came out. His mouth filled with a salty taste and his limbs would not move properly. They felt heavy and every time he tried to kick there was a stabbing pain. He quickly felt himself grow weak and everything went dark, but Roy could've sworn that he saw a flash of gold before he lost consciousness.

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**AN: **Awright! First chapter done! Anyways, don't forget to review because reviews make me happy. Now, updates will be every other week I suppose, but really it just depends on whether I'm in the mood to write. But yes, till the next chapter.


	2. Chapter Two

**AN:** Wow. I was really surprised by the amount of reviews I got. You guys really make me happy. So, I decided to write another chapter as I didn't have much else to do. Oh! I just want to say that _Jean de Florette_ is a brilliant movie. I've never cried that much at the end of a movie before. Another thing, Edward does not have automail because a) it would rust and b) if he ever lost a limb then Daddy Dearest would just magic him up a new one.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-2-**

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Obsidian eyes slowly opened to study the strange but fantastical world Roy seemed to have stepped – fallen – into. Shimmers of light glistened above him as the water's smooth surface reflected the sun's rays. The prince blinked dumbly. Water? What was he doing underwater? His thoughts were too muddled for him to think straight. Lack of oxygen? Perhaps.

Still in a daze, his gaze moved on to see the clumps of seaweed and other marine vegetation swaying gently in the weak current, the colorful coral formations that were still untouched by the rough hand of humanity, and the fish. Oh yes, the fish. They were quite eye-catching. Roy spent a good thirty seconds studying a single silver fish, whose scales glimmered and glistened enough to make all the other fish envious.

The fish eventually noticed the prince's blank stare and quickly swam off to rejoin the rest of its school. Well, what do you know, a self-conscious fish.

"_God. Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to stare? Children these days. No respect at all."_

Now this shocked Roy. It wasn't everyday that he heard fish speak. Come to think of it. This was all very strange, strange enough to be a dream actually. The prince agreed with that thought, this was all just a dream. After all, there was no possible way that he could possibly survive underwater for this long and fish just did not talk. Period.

He let out a startled yelp as he felt a sharp pinch on his left index finger. Roy turned to glare at the culprit, a small red crustacean, who was glaring right back at the young man with an equal intensity.

"_Move your hands, boy! I need to get by!"_

Roy pulled his hand away in shock and the crab scurried off in a huff. He then relaxed, reminding himself that this was all just a dream, an insane figment of his imagination. The logical explanation was that he had too much sun before falling asleep. Yes. That was it. But then, it dawned on him that you did not feel pain in dreams and that crab sure had pinched him hard – his injured finger was still throbbing rather painfully.

Dreams. Did. Not. Hurt.

The prince's eyes widened considerably before a loud scream escaped his throat as he quickly shot up into a seated position. However, Roy quickly realized that he was losing oxygen and snapped his mouth quickly shut, trying to conserve the last bits of air that remained in his system. He thrashed about, trying to push himself up of to the surface, but his legs didn't respond. His eyes quickly looked down and what he saw made him panic even more.

He had never believed in those tales, the ones with the mermaids, beings that were half human and half fish. Sailors raved about how they lived in the ocean, singing their beautiful songs, luring helpless men in to never be seen again. It was preposterous, but here Roy was staring down at a deep blue fin that had once been his legs. Oh yeah. His shirt and pants had also managed to disappear.

This little discovery had almost given the poor prince a heart attack, but he had just settled for screaming again, scrunching his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of the polished cyan scales, the powerful shark-like caudal fin, and the dorsal fin that was now pressing rather uncomfortably into the soft white sand.

His lungs burned for air and his brain was screaming at him to find some oxygen, to swim to the surface. The thoughts that were muddled before were know completely unrecognizable. They were nothing but bunches of incoherent jargon strung together. He felt himself growing weak and light-headed due to oxygen-deprivation. Roy knew that he'd lose consciousness soon if this kept up, but there was no way for him to move towards the surface. His newest limb was not responding very well to the commands his almost completely shut-down brain was sending, so instead of swimming Roy ended up thrashing about.

Suddenly he felt his shoulders being grasped firmly, holding him still despite the prince's struggles. Then something warm and soft pressed against his lips, pushing his mouth open. Roy opened his eyes in shock and stared into another pair of eyes that were the color of molten gold. It seemed as if time had frozen for just that moment.

Of course the prince was eventually brought back to reality as he felt air rush into his lungs. They gratefully accepted the offering and spread power back into the rest of his body, rebooting his brain. The warmth left his mouth for a moment as Roy exhaled, but it returned quickly with another stream of air.

Roy blinked, completely frozen on the spot as the owner of the golden eyes he saw before him pulled away. The hands remained on his shoulder, but were no longer gripping him as forcefully. The prince was more than confused, which was actually quite understandable as it wasn't everyday you woke up to find that you were half fish and then get kissed by an absolute stranger, who just happened to have the second most gorgeous face – his was the first – Roy had ever seen. Okay, so maybe said 'kiss' was really more of a way to supply his body with oxygen, but there was still the contact of the lips so in Roy's book it was a kiss.

A thick silence seemed to linger in the air as Roy stared at the person before him, who seemed to be a female, but upon closer inspection of the chest area, the prince's initial conclusion was proven wrong. The being before him was most definitely male even though the long blonde hair that flowed freely in the ocean's drift, the soft lips, the thick lashes, and the slightly feminine facial features could easily say otherwise. Plus the scales that covered the boy's fin were pink and the translucent webbing at the tip was only a few shades lighter.

"Jeeze. Why can't you just wake up normally like everyone else instead of screaming and suffocating yourself?" the boy asked before letting out an exasperated sigh when he saw that Roy wasn't 'breathing normally'. "Good Lord." The blonde closed his eyes for a moment. "Alright, do it with me. In." He inhaled. "Out." He exhaled. "You try."

Roy was stunned and confused. The boy had made breathing look so easy, but what if he was just going crazy? He'd just drown himself by mimicking the boy.

'_If you were going crazy then you probably would've died already,'_ a nagging voice from the back of his mind said flatly. Roy couldn't help but agree.

He cautiously opened his mouth and took a breath, waiting for the inevitable choking and drowning that would follow, but it never came. Now this certainly was a pleasant and strange surprise. Oh well. Roy sure wasn't complaining.

"See?" the blonde boy said as if talking to a small child, "It's called breathing. We do it to survive. Breathing is good." Roy responded by glaring at the younger male.

"Shut up, fish boy," he growled. This earned a laugh from 'Fish Boy'.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, you're one too," the boy shot back, clearly amused. "Maybe you did hit your head harder on that rock harder than I thought." Roy rolled his eyes.

"My head's perfectly fine and I am not a fish… thing. I'm _human_," the prince replied, stressing the syllables in 'human'.

"I think the term you're looking for is mermaid, but seeing as you're a guy, I think you'd prefer merman or something along those lines," the boy said in a bored fashion. "I also think that you did hit you head pretty hard because you're obviously not a human." There was the slightest tinge of envy and longing on the final word. "Your blue proof's right there." He pointed down at Roy's fin.

"Yours is pink," Roy said dully, pointing down at the other boy's tail, earning a twitch and a scowl from the blonde. It seemed that Prince Roy had struck a sore spot.

"It's _salmon_ and why does it matter what color my tail is?" he growled, teeth clenched. He was clearly annoyed.

"It doesn't matter, but I'm pretty sure it's pink," Roy shot back, lips pulled back into a smirk.

"Who are you calling a girly-man-who-paints-his-nails-pink-to-match-his-fin!" the boy screeched. Roy could almost see the water surrounding the blonde beginning to boil. This boy was definitely a hothead.

"I never said anything like that," Roy replied innocently, which only succeeding in irritating the poor boy even more.

"Tch! I don't understand why I even decided to save you in the first place," the blonde replied, turning away from Roy. "You know, if it wasn't for me then you would've been smashed against the rocks." This caused the prince to stop and store away the other infuriating remarks away for future use.

"I guess I should say thanks then," Roy began. "So, thank you…" he trailed off at the end, realizing that he had no idea what the boy's name was.

"Edward, but everyone calls me Ed," the boy, who was now identified as Edward, said, smiling softly.

"Alright. Thanks, Ed," Roy replied and smiled as well. "I'm Roy."

"You're welcome, Roy," Edward replied. "So, where are you from anyways? I've never seen you around here before." Roy shifted around uncomfortably as Edward plopped down next to him, folding his hands in his lap.

"I'm from a place far away," Roy replied quickly. Edward raised an eyebrow at that response, but didn't press any further.

"How did you get out here in the first place then?"

"You want the truth?" Edward nodded. "I have no idea. I just wanted a bit of freedom and then I ended up here."

"So you accidentally ran away from home?" the blonde supplied. Roy laughed and gave a small nod.

"I guess I did in a way because I can't exactly go back now."

"Why?"

"It's… complicated." In reality it wasn't that complicated at all. If Roy came back to the palace like this – half fish from the waist down – then he'd most certainly not be welcome back into open arms. There'd be a lot of screams, a few faints, and then the awkwardness would ensue.

"Family problems?" the merboy supplied again. The prince gave another nod.

"Yeah." Edward gave a sympathetic nod.

"I know how it is. My father's a real pain. He's the king of Rizenbull you know, so that means that I'm constantly pressured by him. Apparently I'm the one who will be the next king because I'm the eldest. I have a younger brother." He let out a sigh. "I don't want to rule a kingdom."

"Why not? You get to order people around." Edward shrugged.

"I just don't want to."

"Well, I can't wait till I get to sit on the throne," Roy said, looking away from the blonde and towards the surface.

"You're a prince too?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll ever see my home again."

"Long way back?"

"Something like that."

Edward let out a sigh and pushed himself up off the sandy ocean floor before tugging on Roy's hand. A smile played upon the boy's lips as he looked down at the other prince.

"Come on. You can stay in my house till you decide to go back," the blonde said warmly, causing Prince Roy to smile as well.

"Are you sure you want me around?" Roy asked, remembering the boy's earlier outburst.

"Sure. Besides, if you really act like a bastard then I can just lock you in the dungeon or something." The joy with which Ed said that last statement sent shivers up Roy's spine.

"Okay," Roy said, letting himself be pulled up by Ed. He really wasn't even sure if he wanted to follow the blonde now, but going to this Rizenbull place was definitely better than floating out here in the middle of nowhere.

"Jeeze. Swim for yourself. You've got a fin, use it," Edward said when he noticed that he was pulling all of the other male's weight.

"I don't know how," Roy replied simply, not feeling embarrassed at all.

"Gods. First you don't breathe and now you don't know how to swim? Man. You're a weird one." Edward sighed. "Alright. It's not hard. Just use your fin to propel yourself forwards. Move it up and down. Try." The blonde didn't seem to realize that his explanation was pretty vague.

Roy's tail gave a small flick and he moved forwards. His smile grew into a grin. Maybe this whole swimming thing wasn't too hard. He let go of Edward's hand and started to swim around, showing off his newfound skill. Well, that was until he collided with a rather large rock, which earned a few snickers from Edward.

"Maybe I should help you after all," the boy said as he grasped Roy's hand after the prince had finished rubbing his bruised forehead.

"Fine," he replied moodily, his ego successfully deflated. The sudden moodiness just made Edward laugh again.

And then they were off, swimming towards the underwater kingdom of Rizenbull. However, neither one was aware of the commotion going about topside in Armestris. Roy's sudden disappearance had apparently created quite a fuss.

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**AN: **Mmkay. There's chapter two. Short. I know, but yeah. Anyways, now that my fall break is over, I will probably update once a week if I'm lucky. School really eats up a lot of my free-time now. Don't forget to review though.


	3. Chapter Three

**AN: **I really love you all so much. The amount of reviews I have now makes me want to dance around the kitchen with a funky chicken. Because I'm in a strange burst of inspiration, which doesn't usually last all too long, I've decided to write yet another chapter. Ta-dah! This may be the most I've updated a single story in a long time. I feel very accomplished. Anyhoo, enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-3-**

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If you said that the subaqueous kingdom of Rizenbull was beautiful then you clearly could not appreciate the magnificence of it all: the shimmering pearly white walls, the expertly crafted towers that twisted upwards to resemble the shells that adorned these smooth flawless walls, and the precious stones and metals, whose splendor could be seen from miles away.

Roy was in awe. His jaw had dropped the moment he let his eyes drift across the exquisiteness before him. Edward noticed his astonished state and chuckled softly, feeling proud of his kingdom's beauty. His father really had made Rizenbull a success – Ed never liked to admit it.

"Done staring yet?" Edward asked, swimming towards the large jade gates that twinkled in the evening sunlight that filtered down from above. Roy gave a small nod and followed suite, having now gotten the hang of swimming.

"It's amazing," Roy breathed, still very much enraptured by the sight before him.

"Yeah, it is," Edward said softly in agreement as the two of them swam past seas of iridescent flowers, houses made of limestone, cobblestone roads that seemed to have no particular use besides being aesthetically pleasing.

"You've lived here all your life?" Roy asked, trying to avoid an uncomfortable awkward silence.

"Yeah," Ed replied. "It becomes rather boring after a while though."

"All things become boring after a while, but my home isn't nearly as wonderful as this," the raven-haired prince said as he watched a school of colorful fish swim by.

"That's true, but I want some excitement! Change! I'm tired of seeing the same old coral each day," Edward said, eyes turning upwards to look at the rippling surface above. He let out a sigh. "I want…" he trailed off, letting out a small humorless laugh. "No, you'd probably think that I was crazy if I told you."

"Try me." Edward looked at him quizzically for a moment, but began speaking soon enough.

"My father would be angry if he found out about this, but I dream about being able to explore the surface world, even if only for a day." He let out a longing sigh. "But that's impossible. The most I can do is watch the boats sail past towards the harbor."

There was a moment of silence before Roy's voice shattered it.

"The surface world, you make it sound so wonderful, but really, it's not anything like this," Roy said, suddenly feeling a slight pang of homesickness. The undersea world was a glorious sight to behold, but the prince knew that he didn't belong here. This was Edward's home, not his.

"I know. That's why I want to go there. I would give up my fin for a pair of legs any day." He closed his eyes for a moment, slowing down a bit. "I've heard so many stories about the surface. Most of them are pretty scary actually."

"It isn't scary," Roy said flatly.

"How do you know?" Edward asked, spinning around to face Roy. "You couldn't possibly know."

"I-" Roy was at a loss for words. He had completely forgotten that he was no longer part of the surface world, his home. All Edward could see was another merman like himself, not a human who miraculously grew a tail and fins.

"Right. I thought so," Ed said, snorting softly as he turned back around and swam on. "Come on!" he called back, "Stop drifting there like a sack of kelp!"

Roy couldn't help but smile at that as he quickly propelled himself forwards, following Edward towards the largest and most extravagant building of all: the palace.

The two males swam past crowds of mermaids and mermen alike. It seems that the undersea streets were always just as crowded as the surface ones. Many of them waved at Edward, who happily waved back, but most of them just stared inquisitively at Roy. It seemed that not many of them were used to seeing a new face. Roy just put on his most charming smile and tried his best to ignore the whisperings that blossomed.

Edward slowed down at bit so that he could swim alongside Roy. He may be childish and short-tempered at times, but Prince Edward Elric was not without a heart. Roy was definitely feeling awkward and the townspeople weren't helping much, so Ed decided to give him a little bit of reassurance.

"Don't worry. They're just curious. Besides, this just means that you'll become pretty popular," Ed said, grinning. "In less than a few hours everyone will know about the 'handsome young merman accompanying Prince Edward'."

Roy's eyes widened in surprise before he burst out laughing. Edward couldn't help but notice how clear and light the young man's laugh was. It was the sort of laugh that would make anyone smile.

"Well, as long as they say I'm handsome then I have no complaints," he replied, grinning as well. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Don't forget egotistic. Jeeze. Your ego is sure easy to inflate," Edward said.

"I could say the same about you."

"Oh really? You barely even know me."

"You barely even now me either."

"Good point."

The two then began laughing again as they swam past the palace's gates and towards the entrance, sometimes making small detours to flip and twirl in the water. Before they knew it, Edward and Roy had engaged in a 'Anything-You-Can-Do-I-Can-Do-Better' contest.

"My flip was much better," Roy argued.

"Nu-uh!" Edward protested. "It reminded me of a dying dogfish slowly floating up to the surface."

"Oh yes. And your majestic 'Look at me! I got my head stuck in the sand' flip was much better?"

"Hey! Getting your head stuck in the sand takes skill! It's an art!"

"Of course, Edward. Of course," Roy replied, smiling softly. "You know we both look like idiots."

"Yeah," the blonde replied, nodding his head. "But you have to admit that it's fun."

"True."

The two laughed some more and were just about to enter the palace when a loud cry pierced the air. Roy jumped, startled by the sudden noise, but Edward just stood calmly, acting like this was a normal everyday occurrence.

"Brother!" a high boyish voice exclaimed happily. Then there was a streak of yellow rushing past Roy and straight at Edward. The startled prince could only gape when he saw the yellow blur run straight into the other prince, pushing him backwards.

"Hey, come on, Al! You can't tackle me every time I get home," Edward gently as he gazed down at the yellow blur, which turned out to be a smallish fish that had big innocent blue eyes, translucent blue fins, and, surprisingly, some short light brown hair. A fish with hair? That wasn't something you saw everyday.

Roy had been seeing a lot of strange things lately. He figured that he should be prepared now to see some weird every time he turned a corner. The prince slowly approached Edward and the fish that was currently snuggling against his 'brother's' chest. Ed looked up when he saw Roy looking inquisitively at the yellow fish.

"Roy, I'd like you to meet my little brother, Alphonse," the merboy said cheerfully. "Al," he said, looking back down at the fish, "This is Roy. He's visiting for a while."

"Hi, Roy!" the Alphonse said happily, still nestled comfortably in his brother's arms.

"Hello. Pleased to meet you," Roy replied, still slightly puzzled about the whole 'brother thing'. Of course, Edward noticed the confused expression on the prince's face and let out a laugh.

"Oh. Al doesn't really look like this normally. He just had a little accident while messing with something he shouldn't have. My dad says that the effects should wear off in a week or so," the blonde explained.

"Ah. I see," Roy replied lamely. This really was a strange world.

"I'm gonna tell Dad you're home and you brought a friend!" Alphonse said happily as he wriggled out of his brother's arms. "Brother's got a friend!" he exclaimed and sped off towards the palace, going in through one of the many tall windows instead of the door. It was then that Roy noticed how open everything was. It was a nice change.

"Well, he certainly is full of energy," Roy remarked.

"Yeah. Al is like a ball of sunshine," Edward replied with a smile.

"I can tell."

"Well, we'd better get a move on before my dad comes out and causes another uproar. He gets a bit excited every time I willingly come home."

Edward let out sigh and swam after Al, motioning Roy to follow. Did no one use the doors around here? Roy didn't bother with asking and just followed him.

The two males made it into the throne room, which was just as elegant and eye-catching as the rest of the palace. Roy gazed at everything, marveling at the wonder of it all. He swore that there wasn't a single thing in the entire room that didn't sparkle, glitter, or shine.

"Edward!" a voice boomed as a man that Roy suspected to be his father came into view.

Roy could see the slight resemblance between Ed and his father. However, instead of Edward's silky blonde hair, the man's was brownish – the strands were pulled back into a pony tail, though some had gotten loose – more like Alphonse's, and his eyes were a deep amber instead of Edward's molten gold ones. The king also wore a pair of glasses – not something Roy had expected – and sported a well trimmed beard that was neat and tidy. His tail was a deep forest green and each scale shimmered beautifully, even the translucent greenish webbing at the tip shone. A golden crown sat upon the man's head and two golden bands were wrapped around his wrists. It was easy to tell that he was the king.

"Hi, Dad," Edward said weakly as his stiff body was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. It was clear that the blonde felt uncomfortable. However, the boy forced a smile and bore it. Eventually the king let go to look towards Roy.

"Oh. Is this the friend that Alphonse was talking about?" he asked, gazing at Roy intently.

"Yes!" Alphonse chirped.

"Ah. I see. What might your name be?" he asked, smiling warmly. Edward glared at his father's back as if trying to burn holes through the king.

"Uh. Roy, sir," the prince responded, feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hohenheim. Please make yourself at home. I'm glad Edward has finally found another friend," the king said.

"Hey, Dad," Edward suddenly said, drawing his father's attention away from Roy. "He'll be staying with us for a while. Somehow he ended up here, which is pretty far away from his own kingdom."

"That's fine," King Hohenheim said with a smile. It surprised Roy how easy-going this king was. He truly did not seem like the king-like type to him at all. His own father would've never agreed to having a complete stranger sleep in his palace just like that. It was unthinkable!

"Thank you," Roy said, grateful that he wouldn't be sleeping on some rock out in the middle of nowhere. Here he would have a bed… or something.

"No. It's quite alright. It's nice to have guests," the king replied, still smiling.

Roy breathed out a sigh of relief. Maybe today wasn't as bad as he thought it had been. Though, there was still that nagging thought about what he would do. How would he get home? How would he return to his old self? Many questions like this buzzed around in his head. However, his thought process was interrupted by a loud growling noise… that came from his stomach.

"Umm…" Roy said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He'd been so caught up in everything that he hadn't realized that he hadn't eaten anything in a while. How long had it been?

Edward laughed, grinning. Well, he had certainly become cheerful again quickly. "I guess we should get you some food," he said. "Come on." He then grasped Roy's hand and began to pull his towards the exit, but his father's voice stopped him.

"Wait, Edward!" Edward turned around, his good mood replaced with an irritated one again.

"What?" the blonde snapped, not really wanting to stay any longer in his father's presence.

"Take Envy with you. I don't want you running off again. It's dangerous out there," the king said, obviously concerned for his son's welfare. Edward let out a groan.

"Not Envy!" he pleaded, but it was too late; the moss-colored sea serpent was already slithering towards him, purple eyes eyeing both princes with disdain.

"Too bad, shrimp," he muttered, "I'm going whether you like it or not." He let out a sigh and turned his head to get a better look at Roy. A shocked expression crossed the serpent's face and a flicker of recognition seemed to appear in his eyes, but Roy couldn't be sure.

"Fine," Edward grumbled, clearly not happy about this. Envy sighed and rolled his eyes again.

"You can only imagine the joy it brings me to follow you around," Envy muttered, slithering past Edward and Roy. If anything, the snake's mood seemed to have darkened ever since he saw Roy.

"Whatever," Ed replied before turning to Roy. "Let's go get some food." Roy nodded and let himself be dragged off to who knows where. All the dark-haired prince could think about was that strange look Envy had given him. It was almost as if the serpent had seen him before.

----

**AN: **Okay. Another chapter done. Jeeze. All these chapters are turning out pretty short. Ah well. The plot is starting to move along, so that's good. Anyways, don't forget to review. You see that reviewing makes me update quickly.


	4. Chapter Four

**AN: **Wow. I have a lot more free time than usual. It's nice though, so I'm not complaining, but the English work is so utterly dull. We're studying Snow Falling on Cedars and it's dull. Really dull. Nothing can compare with that dullness. It would be a better book if it was shorter. Why? Because finding specific quotations in a 500 page book is not fun.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-4-**

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Roy stared down at his plate, his expression a mixture of disgust and disbelief. Now, the prince had no idea what was on his plate – Blooperfish Rolls? – but he definitely wouldn't refer to it as food of any kind. They were long strips of a white, blue-spotted, blubbery substance that had been rolled into, well, rolls. Now, there was a bunch of leafy salad thrown about for decoration, so Roy had eaten that instead – steering clear of the funky colored rolls. This was the last time he ordered the same thing as Edward.

He tentatively prodded at one of the roll and earned a face full some opaque black liquid – ink? Since when did your food spit back at you? Edward had promptly laughed himself into hysterics when he saw Roy's blackened face, eye wide with surprise. But of course, the ink was soon washed away by the current. Roy actually found it quite miraculous that his food managed to stay rooted to the plate – his salad had tried to float away, but no piece of salad floats away from Prince Roy Mustang unless he so explicitly wishes it.

"You're not eating," Edward stated simply after he had recovered from his laughing fit. The blonde's own plate had been completely cleaned off. It seemed as if there hadn't ever been food on the shiny white surface.

"Ah. I'm…" Roy trailed off. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't hungry. His stomach was still pestering him for more nourishment. He shifted around uneasily in his seat and looked about the small café Edward had taken him too. It was a comfortable place and had a pleasant air about it, but the food was something that Roy would probably never agree with.

"Well? I'm waiting?" Edward said, reminding Roy that he had been in the middle of a sentence.

"I'm actually allergic to anything blue," he quickly said and mentally slapped himself afterwards. Allergic to the color blue? Nice one, Mustang. Nice one. Edward raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure about Roy's explanation. "It's… ah… complicated. There's a chemical in blue things that I'm allergic too." The prince couldn't help but notice that his excuse was getting lamer and lamer.

"Right," Edward said, clearly not exactly believing Roy's statement. "But didn't you know that the spots would be blue?" he asked, pressing the subject further.

"Ah. They're red in my hometown," Roy replied quickly, scratching his cheek nervously before looking away again.

"That's bullshit," Envy said, suddenly slithering out from underneath the table, amethyst eyes fixed on Roy. Actually, the sea snake had been so quiet that Roy had completely forgotten about him until now. "He's just afraid to eat them." Roy winced; the snake sure knew how to hit the nail straight on the head. Plus those purple eyes gave him the creeps.

"You've never had this before?" Edward asked, surprised. Apparently this was a pretty popular dish. Roy gave a weak nod, earning another laugh from the blonde. "That explains it. Seriously, they taste good. Try some."

Roy looked down at his plate again, feeling a little uneasy about this. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of having that in his stomach, but he knew that Ed probably wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't and the raven-haired prince wanted to wipe the smirk off Envy's face – sacrifices must be made.

"He's not going to do it," Envy said, smirk growing wider. "Pansy." Roy glared at the snake and cut off a small piece of the white and blue roll and ate it.

Now, it would be a lie to say that Roy hadn't been expecting a god awful taste that would make him retch and collapse to the floor. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It was a mixture of sweet and sour that had a little dash of spicy thrown in. He quickly cut himself another piece. Maybe he'd get used to this food after all.

"Good, right?" Edward asked. Roy nodded, mouth too full to say much of anything. However, the older male noticed with great pride that the serpent had successfully been rid of his smirk.

Prince Roy finished his meal in a matter of minutes and not a scrap was left over. His plate was left just as clean as Edward's.

"That was good," he said, letting out a content sigh.

"Told you so," Edward replied, smiling. "Well, we should probably head back now before my dad throws a fit. He's paranoid and overprotective." He let out a sigh and pushed himself out of his seat and Roy did the same. Envy just let out a yawn and murmured something that sounded like 'Finally' before swimming away.

The two mermen and the sea serpent then swam back out into the streets, after paying for their meal of course. The streets were still as crowded as ever, but Roy didn't receive as many stares. Apparently word of his existence had reached everyone already. Suddenly, for the second time that day, a voice pierced the tranquil air.

"Prince Edward!" a female voice said excitedly. Not too long afterwards a blonde mermaid swam out from the crowd towards them, a small shopping basket on one arm. Her long hair flew into her face for a moment, obscuring her bright azure eyes, but she quickly pushed the locks away. Her mouth was set in what seemed like a permanent smile and her fin's orange scales shone brightly, but not as brightly as Edward's. Roy had noticed that. She wore a strip of black cloth that could barely be called a shirt over her chest. All in all, Roy figured that she was class-A Prince Edward fangirl material.

"Hi, Winry," Edward said cheerfully, smile growing bigger. "Roy, this is Winry Rockbell. She's a friend of mine and runs the tool shop in town with Auntie Pinako."

"Pleased to meet you," Roy said, smiling as well, his charm switch flipping on automatically. Winry giggled, blushing slightly. Ah. Seems he was wrong. Winry Rockbell was class-A all-around fangirl material.

"Same," she said shyly. Edward noticed this and raised his eyebrows, but he remained silent. "So, you're the one everyone's talking about." She let out another giggle. Roy mentally winced – he decided that her giggle could wake the dead or at least make them roll over in their graves.

"Oh really? What are they saying?" Roy asked, his mask still in place.

"Oh. Just that you're incredibly handsome and were accompanying Prince Edward earlier today," she replied, her eyes sparkling when she mentioned Ed. "But there have also been rumors that you're the prince's lover."

If Roy or Ed had been drinking something then they would've choked on it or at least have it come out of their noses. Roy coughed, cheeks tinted a pale pink, but Edward on the other hand had turned as red as a tomato and couldn't get any coherent phrases out thanks to his spluttering. Well, he eventually made his opinion know.

"What?!" he screeched, absolutely mortified. Winry giggled yet again.

"I know, but you have to admit that you two seem _very_ friendly with each other," Winry said, her tone clearly implying something.

Roy snorted and rolled his eyes. Sure, Edward was good-looking, he wouldn't deny that, but he didn't love the boy. Roy liked women and women only. No matter how much Edward looked like a woman, he wasn't, so the love relationship between the two princes would never happen. _Ever_.

"Winry!" Edward said, turning even redder.

"I'm kidding, Ed. It's just a harmless joke," she said, grinning. It seemed that she was quite pleased with herself for upsetting the merboy so much. Edward really was a very sensitive boy, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"It wasn't funny," Edward grumbled.

"Get over it," Envy grumbled, not exactly pleased that they had stopped for a chit-chat with Winry. The snake glanced at the blonde mermaid for a moment, but said nothing to her.

"Hello, Envy," Winry said cheerfully, receiving only a grumpy grunt in reply. "Tch! Moody as always." She sighed and turned back to Ed. "Well, I better head back to the shop before Gran starts to worry." The blonde girl shifted the weight of the basket around a bit. It had gotten rather uncomfortable. "Bye Edward. Bye Roy." She paused. "Bye Envy." Another grunt. She stuck her tongue out at the snake, waved at the other two, and swam off.

"She seems… nice," Roy said after she was out of earshot. Edward nodded.

"Winry can be a bit difficult at times, but she's one of my best friends," Edward replied. He felt something push against his fin. Scowling, he looked down to see an unhappy Envy pushing against him.

"Can we _please_ go now?" the snake hissed. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Fine. Jeeze. Be patient," Edward replied. Envy then swam ahead, which was a clear signal that Roy and Edward better hurry up and follow. "Stupid snake," he grumbled before swimming off with Roy.

The raven-haired prince looked up at the surface and noticed that the light had gotten considerably dimmer. There was also a pinkish orange hint to the light. The sun was setting. This event caught Roy off-guard. Had he really been down here that long already?

He was snapped out of his thought by Edward, who was tugging at his arm, pulling him towards the surface.

"I want to show you something," he said softly.

"But Envy-"

"Doesn't matter," Edward interrupted, effectively silencing Roy.

The two males quickly broke the surface, just in time to see the last sliver of the sun descend beneath the horizon, the rainbow sky slowly beginning to darken.

"I love watching the sunset," Edward said suddenly, smiling. "It makes everything just seem so calm, especially out here."

Roy nodded, his gaze drifting off to look around. His heart caught in his throat. Armestris was nowhere in sight. How far out had he drifted? Would he ever get back? Which way was back anyways?

Edward noticed the young man's distress quickly. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Roy said shakily, his voice cracking slightly. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure," Roy said firmly. Edward eyed him warily, but said nothing more and the two floated there in silence.

----

**AN: **Now, this chapter is a lot shorter than the others, but cut me some slack. Alrighty. Don't forget to review please.


	5. Chapter Five

**AN: **Meh. School's been pretty hectic lately. An essay, a book report, art projects, and all that jazz. Well, at least I had a half-day today. My school's calendar might be weird, but I'm not complaining about all these vacation days. Anyways, I'll get on with the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-5-**

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"_Why did that damn brat have to find **you**?"_

Roy let out a small groan and rolled over in his bed, entangling himself in the silky sheets. The fabric rustling softly as it clung to his body. His eyelids fluttered, but remained closed as he drifted away from consciousness.

"_Tch! Thanks to you my ass is on the line."_

A frustrated sigh echoed throughout the room, the sound bouncing off the smooth marble walls and floor. Another groan escaped Roy's lips as he curled into a tight ball. Whoever was making all that noise would eventually wake the slumbering prince if they weren't careful.

"_Stupid. You're stupid. This is stupid. Hell, this whole damn plan is stupid."_

Roy rolled onto his back, pulling the covers tightly over his head. A few muffled noises left his mouth as he curled back into the ball. His face scrunched up a bit and his eyelids fluttered.

"_Stupid Sea Witch."_

Roy's eyes snapped open, obsidian staring directly into amethyst. The prince let out a loud cry and tumbled off the soft mattress, the covers flying in each and every direction. His bottom collided painfully with the floor and he stared at the intruder.

"Good job. Now you've woken up the entire castle," a familiar serpent hissed angrily, tail flicking out of irritation.

"W-what are you doing here?" Roy demanded, still collecting himself. He wasn't exactly used to seeing a talking sea snake when he woke up and didn't intend on getting used to it either. Envy rolled his eyes and slithered closer to Roy.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the snake asked, smirking. Roy frowned, temper rising. He really understood why Edward hated the serpent so much. However, just when the dark-eyed young man was opening his mouth to retort, the door burst open and in tumbled Edward.

Speak of the devil.

"Roy, are you alright?" the blonde asked, glaring murderously at Envy, whose smirk seemed to grow when he saw Ed's anger.

"I'm fine," Roy said, letting his gaze rest on the blonde instead of Envy. Edward let out a breath of relief, but that didn't snuff out the anger he felt towards the snake.

"Envy," he growled, "What are you doing here."

"Oh. Just seeing if our guest was alright," Envy said with false sweetness as he exited the room, shooting one last dirty at Roy before disappearing into the dark palace hallways.

"Sorry for waking you up," Roy said as he hoisted himself back onto the bed, wincing at the dull pain in his rear. He'd probably bruise later – did scales bruise?

"I was already awake," Edward said quickly, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "Envy is always causing trouble now. He's really been getting on my nerves." He sighed. "What am I saying? I've never liked Envy." Ed bit his lower lip, looking away from the other male. "He's my half-brother you know." Roy stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open.

"Wh-what?" Roy's dumbfounded expression made the younger prince smile. It wasn't everyday you saw the great Prince Roy Mustang stutter like this, but Edward wouldn't know that.

"Yeah. Before my dad became king and met… Mom," he forced out the last word, voice shaking slightly, "He had a child with another lady. I don't know much about her, but Envy's shape shifting powers come from her." Edward swallowed, trying to push the lump in his throat down. It was always hard for him to talk about his mother. It had only been three years since her untimely death.

"Shape shifting?" Roy asked, more confused than ever. Edward nodded, lips set in a thin line.

"Yeah. He can change his appearance whenever he wants. Envy rarely uses his true form, so you probably won't ever see it," the blonde replied, rubbing at his eyes as he fought back the urge to yawn.

"Oh. And your mother? Does she live in the palace as well?" Roy asked. When he saw the somber expression on Edward's face, he immediately wished he could take the words back. How could he have been so insensitive – he'd never been known for his sensitivity in any case – to not have noticed that this was a sore spot for the merboy?

"No. Not anymore," Edward replied sadly, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from coming. He wasn't going to cry. "She died three years ago."

'_Not going to cry. Never.'_

He felt a tear roll down, only to be scooped up in the sea's current after a second. More quickly followed suite.

'_Ah. To hell with not crying.' _

Edward felt his body tremble and shake for a moment before two arms wrapped around his shoulders, steadying him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Roy said, feeling even guiltier now. He had never wanted to make the blonde cry. Edward sniffed, letting his head rest against Roy.

"No. It's alright. You didn't know," the blonde replied, smiling weakly.

"You don't have to smile for my sake," Roy murmured. Edward shook his head, still smiling.

"I'm smiling because I want to. You make me want to smile." Roy felt his face heat up slightly at that comment. Edward laughed softly. "It's funny. I've only known you for a day, but it feels like it's been longer. Maybe in a past life when we were both crabs or something." Roy couldn't help but laugh along with Edward.

"Maybe. You remind me more of a rabbit though," Roy said, grinning. "Probably because of your cute face." It was Edward's turn to blush.

"Uh. Roy? What's a rabbit?" he asked. This question made Roy's eyebrows go up, but then he remembered that Edward had never been able to explore the surface world.

"It's a small fluffy thing that has these big ears, big feet, and big buckteeth!" Roy exclaimed, letting go of the smaller male to use his hands to imitate the ears and buckteeth.

"A surface animal?" Edward asked, eyes shining bright, enraptured by Roy's explanation of this 'rabbit creature'. "You've seen one." Roy nodded.

"Yep," he said proudly.

"Amazing," Edward breathed. "I wish I could see one." Roy laughed.

"I'm sure you will one day," the raven-haired prince replied confidently. "I'm positive." Edward's smile grew as he hugged the young man. This caught Roy slightly by surprise, but it was a welcome hug. Edward really was one of the few people who enjoyed his company because of who he was, not because of what.

"You're really a good guy. At first I thought you were just another idiot bastard who had hit his head on the rocks too hard, but I guess I was wrong." Roy smirked.

"And I though you were just another bratty kid who had no control over his short temper." This earned him a playful punch in the arm.

"Don't push your luck," Edward warned, his smile becoming slightly strained. Roy just smiled, remembering how he had found about Ed's sensitivity to his lack of height earlier that evening.

----

_"Hey, Edward," Roy said, looking towards the blonde merboy, who swam gracefully alongside him._

"_Mmm?" the other answered, glancing towards Roy for a moment._

"_You're pretty short aren't you?" the prince said bluntly, onyx eyes still fixed on Edward, who had frozen right on the spot. Roy stopped as well. "Edward? Are you alright?" he asked when he saw the younger male trembling – from anger?_

_It didn't take long before the merboy exploded into a fit of rage, butterscotch eyes flashing dangerously._

"_Who are you calling so small that he can't be squashed by a plankton because he can slip through the pores!" Edward screeched loudly, causing the surrounding schools of fish to scatter. It all ended in a very angry Ed and a very nasty bruise on Roy's cheek – courtesy of Edward's fist._

----

"Fine. I won't bother you about your height," Roy said. There was a pause. "Much." There was a loud smack and then a pitiful 'Ow!'.

"I was wrong. You are a bastard," Edward grumbled as he got up off the bed and moved towards the door, leaving Roy to nurse his other wounded cheek in solitude. The blonde paused at the doorway, looking back towards the other prince. He sighed and swam back to Roy.

"Come back to hit me again?" Roy asked, his hands slipping away from his red cheek.

"No," Edward said and planted a chaste kiss on the young man's face. "I'm sorry." The blonde – blushing like mad of course – then swam away quickly, leaving a very stunned Roy behind.

----

"Why did I do that?" Edward asked himself as he sat in front of his dressing table, fingers tangled in his yellow locks, making a quick mess of his hair. A red-faced flustered version of himself stared back at him through the mirror. The blonde let out another frustrated cry and let his forehead rest against the table.

"Brother?" Al asked, swimming up beside his older brother, trying to peer through the mass of golden hair to see his older brother's face. "Your face looked awfully red. Are you getting a fever?"

Edward shook his head, wishing that he could crawl into the deepest sea cave and die. He paused. Why was he feeling so embarrassed? It was only an apology kiss. It was a normal thing. Everyone did it, but why was his heart beating so fast that it hurt? Why did it feel like his face was on fire?

"Al? What does it mean when your heart starts beating fast around someone else?" Ed asked. It was funny. Usually it was Al who asked the questions and Edward who gave the answers – however pitiful they might be.

"I think it means that you're afraid," Alphonse replied. "I remember feeling that way when Dad found out that I had messed around with his magic. I was really afraid of him."

"I'm not afraid of Roy!" Edward blurted. Alphonse's small mouth turned into an 'O' shape before pulling back into the largest grin Ed had ever seen.

"Oh! That changes everything. You like Roy don't you?" Alphonse asked, still sporting that knowing grin.

"Um. Yes. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I think you might be in love with him," Al said brightly. He squealed happily and did a flip. "Big Brother's in love! Big Brother's in love! Love at first sight really does exist!"

"Love at first sight?" Edward snorted. "That's stupid. It only happens in fairytales like Mermirella, The Little Human, and Sea Green." Alphonse pouted.

"Brother! Don't be like that! You're spoiling all the fun." Edward just snorted and flopped down on his own bed.

"Whatever. Just go to bed Al. It's way past your bedtime," Edward said. A very disgruntled Al then snuggled under the covers beside the blonde.

'_Love at first sight is just a bunch of crap adults made up to make the fairytales shorter. Lazy bums. They don't want to create a real relationship. Besides, Roy's just my friend. Al doesn't know what he's talking about.'_

Edward gave himself a reassuring nod and relaxed, closing his eyes. Tomorrow was another day to think about all this.

'_Just an apology kiss. Nothing more.'_

----

**AN:** Ah. Fairy tales are so much fun to write. Haa. I've been watching too much Disney. It rots your brain. Anyways, short chapter again. Oh well. I like this size. It's easy for me to write and doesn't eat up too much time. Don't forget to review please.


	6. Chapter Six

**AN: **Ah. Halloween is such a fun time. It means that all the students try their best to persuade the teachers to have parties. The funny this is that it worked. I have two party things now. Pretty funny actually. Anyways, just in case you couldn't figure out my lame twist of the Disney movies: Mermirella Cinderella, The Little Human The Little Mermaid, Sea Green Snow White. Ya. I'm lame. I know.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-6-**

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_The sun shone brightly in the sky, warm rays partially blinding anyone who thought it would be a smart idea to look directly at the flaming ball of hydrogen gas. A few children cried off in the distance. They had been the first to have their eyeballs scorched – such promising genius no? Their mothers were still trying to soothe them._

_Roy rolled his eyes and continued to run towards the beach, his nine-year old legs carrying him as fast as they could. The brilliant Prince Roy Mustang had managed to rid himself of his chaperones – AKA the palace guard. For a nine-year old, the prince was very skilled in the 'art of ditching' as he liked to call it._

_Small pebbles scattered as he half ran, half slid down the step incline towards the sandy shore. A smug smile played upon his lips. Disappearing to the beach was always so easy. It was almost not fun anymore, but Roy relished the freedom. He figured that it would take a while before the palace guards could even manage to catch him._

_When he felt the soft sand beneath him, the young boy pulled off his shoes, socks, and rolled up his pants to his knees. The dark-haired boy then dashed towards the water, letting out a loud cry as the water splashed onto his hot skin. Summer days always made him feel hot and icky, but the cool ocean gave him some relief from the intense heat._

_He splashed around happily, twirling, jumping, and occasionally falling over. By the end of an hour, Roy had soaked himself right through, but he didn't care that he was wet. The prince soon grew tired and climbed upon a smooth rock. He promptly seated himself and tried to catch his breath. The ocean air always made him sleepy._

_A pleasant cool breeze washed over him, bringing with it the cawing of the seagulls. He closed his eyes for a moment and lay down. But of course, young boys never could just stay still for long. After only a couple of minutes, Roy had sat himself back up and was trying in vain to skip some of the pebbles scattered about._

_Plock!_

_Roy frowned as one by his pebbles disappeared beneath the surface. They hadn't even skipped once. He let loose another one._

_Plock!_

_Now Roy was getting frustrated. His frown grew as he launched another pebble, more force behind it than the others._

_Plick! Plick! Plock!_

_The prince was elated. His rock had skipped twice! He had just been hoping for once, but it had skipped twice! He ended up skipping the rest of his collection of pebbles, each one skipping farther than the one before. _

_Finally Roy was down to his last rock. He let out an unhappy sigh and tossed it into the water. It bounced off the surface twice before hoping over a rock and hitting something, or should I say someone?_

"_Ow!" a small voice squeaked._

_Roy froze, eyes wide. He could've sworn that he'd heard a voice, a small one, but a voice no less. Who in the world would be out by that rock?_

"_H-hello? I-is anyone there?" Roy asked timidly, voice shaking slightly. What if it was a sea monster? With his child-like imagination, nothing was impossible._

"_Yeah!" the voice said. There was a loud splash and then a small blonde head popped out of the water right in front of Roy. This caused the prince to let out a startled cry and fall backwards. The person before the prince giggled. "You're funny."_

"_W-wha? Who are you?" Roy demanded, turning red. It was very un-manly to scream and then fall backwards onto one's tush. He looked at the blonde child before him. The child giggled again and peered up at Roy with big golden eyes. He seemed to be no more than four-years old at the most._

"_Edward. Who are you?" the little boy, who was now known as Edward asked._

"_R-Roy," the prince replied._

"_Nice to meet'cha!" Edward said cheerfully. He smiled brightly. "You live in there?" he asked, pointing to the towering castle. Roy nodded. "Is it nice?"_

"_It's boring," Roy replied. He paused. "Where do you live?"_

"_Here!" Edward exclaimed, splashing the water a bit. Roy stared at him, a quizzical expression upon his face._

"_Here?" Roy repeated in confusion._

"_Yep! Me, Daddy, an' Al!" the blonde said with a nod. He put a hand over his mouth. "But I wasn't supposed ta tell you that!" Edward glanced around nervously, biting his lip. "I should go home."_

"_Wait!" Roy said, stopping the small boy. "Will you come back tomorrow? I want to be friends," the prince blurted. Edward stared at him for a moment before his lips pulled back into a wide toothy grin._

"_Yep! I'll be back!" He then waved to Roy. "Bye new friend!" He then disappeared beneath the waves, leaving a very confused Roy Mustang._

----

Roy let out a yawn as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes before stretching. He frowned, remembering the dream he had just had. It was a very strange one in any case and Edward had been in it. It was funny. That dream had almost seemed completely real. Roy shrugged and got out of bed. A dream's a dream. Nothing to worry over in any case.

He swam over to the balcony outside his room and stared out at the undersea kingdom that lay before him, smooth limestone surfaces gleaming in the filtered sunlight. It had been a month since he'd begun to live with Edward and his family in the palace. Overall, he'd adjusted quite well to submerged life – he still got a face full of ink every time he ate though – and he sensed that everyone else was used to his presence by now. He'd become fast friends with Alphonse, Winry, King Hohenheim even, and of course, Edward.

Roy felt his face turn red at the thought of the blonde merboy. It had been weeks since that kiss on the cheek, but the raven-haired prince had been unable to keep himself from thinking about it. Now every time he thought about Edward his face would instantly heat up. No girl had ever made him blush this much. Heck, almost no one could make him blush. Period.

He sighed and leaned against the balcony's marble railing. Roy couldn't help but wonder how everyone on the surface world was faring. He figured that everyone was in an uproar. His parents probably though that he had been kidnapped and was now being forced to work as a prostitute. Yes. His parents had very active imaginations.

Onyx eyes scanned the surface. Nothing in sight. Well, nothing of interest at least. The sun reflecting off the surface really became dull after a while, but truthfully, Roy was enjoying his time in Rizenbull. He didn't feel a pressing urge to return to his own kingdom in any case. Why would he? Nothing was waiting there except a bride he didn't want and a throne that was still out of his reach. Here in Rizenbull he had freedom, friends, and Edward.

Roy smacked his forehead. He really needed to stop thinking about the blonde so much. It was making it difficult to 'act normal' around Edward anymore. However, if the prince hadn't been so focused on his own actions then he would've noticed the change in Ed's manner. He was the only one in the entire palace who hadn't noticed the change in the blonde's ways when he was around Roy. It was actually one of the hottest topics for discussion: Edward and Roy! Good friends or something more?

However, Prince Roy was oblivious as always. He sighed and continued to immerse himself in his thoughts, trying his best to focus on something other than Edward. Unlike Roy, Prince Edward had already accepted his feelings and was trying his best to get his message through the other prince's thick skull – 'Thicker than the marble walls of the palace' according to the merboy, who was currently pacing his room with Alphonse swimming excitedly around his head.

----

"Brother, when are you going to tell him?" Alphonse asked. Unfortunately his body was still trapped in that fish form, but the younger brother insisted that he could feel the change back approaching.

"I've tried!" Edward replied, running his fingers through his golden hair, eyes closed in frustration. Alphonse sighed.

"Brother. Calling him a 'Bastard' isn't exactly what I'd call expressing one's love," Al replied dryly. Edward gaped at his brother. Alphonse was innocent. Alphonse was pure. Alphonse never cursed. "Oh please. I'm fifteen. Cursing isn't anything new," the fish said, rolling his eyes.

"Y-yeah. Right." Edward's frown deepened. "But I say it affectionately," the blonde protested. It was a lame excuse and he knew it. Alphonse did too.

"Brother, saying 'I love you' isn't so hard. You say it to me all the time!" Alphonse explained, "Why not say it to Roy?"

"It isn't as easy as it sounds, Al!" Edward snapped. He sighed. "I'm going to find Winry. She'll be of more help than you." With that the blonde merboy swam away, leaving a grinning Alphonse behind.

"He didn't deny it!" Alphonse said excitedly before erupting into a fit of giggles.

----

"So, Winry, will you help me?" Edward asked, finishing his long explanation. He was currently sitting in the very outskirts of the kingdom with Winry, who was mulling everything over.

"So you like him?" she asked. Ed let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes! I like him!" A pause.

"You love him?"

"Yes! Dammit!" Another pause, longer than the first.

"I see," Winry replied. Her lips pulled back into a frown, but that frown quickly transformed into a full-fledged grin. "My little Eddy is in love!" she squealed, pulling the boy into a hug, eyes sparkling with joy. "You're growing up so fast." She sniffed and wiped an invisible tear from her eye.

"Yeah. Yeah," Ed growled, trying to squirm out of her grasp. "Leggo." Winry held the hug for a few more seconds before letting go.

"I never thought I'd see the day," she said, letting out a sigh. "You know. I always believed that you were asexual, but turns out that you're not after all." She patted him on the back. "Anyways, all you need to do is confess your feelings to him. I'm sure he likes you the same way. Besides, the entire kingdom is already convinced that you're a couple, so go ahead and confirm that rumor!"

"… So you want me to just go and confess my feelings?"

"Yes."

"… Seriously?"

"Yes, Edward."

"… What if he doesn't like me back?" Winry sighed.

"He loves you, Edward. No doubt about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Winry cried out, exasperated with the fidgeting merboy sitting beside her. "Just go tell him before I throw a conch at you." Edward mulled this over for a few seconds.

"Alright! I will!" he said confidently, springing up from the rock he had been sitting upon. Winry cheered.

"Yes! That's the spirit! Go, Ed! Go!" she exclaimed. Edward smiled.

"Thanks for your help, Winry," the blonde said appreciatively and gave her a quick hug before swimming off.

----

Edward sighed as he drifted on the current, not really caring where he went. His love confession hadn't gone over so well. He'd barged into Roy's room, startling the poor prince, and blurted out some nonsense instead. When it came to expressing himself, Edward was not very proficient.

"I'm such an idiot," he muttered to himself, running his fingers through his hair. "I can't believe I totally made a fool of myself back there." He let out another sigh, mentally slapping himself over and over again. "I'm really an idiot."

So the dejected merboy continued to drift farther and farther away from the glorious kingdom of Rizenbull, towards the darkest reaches of the sea. The bright colorful coral transformed into misshapen black lumps and the warm current gave way to a chilly one. Schools of fish no longer crowded the place. It was almost completely devoid of life – there were some blemished dying clumps of seaweed. Jagged rocks littered the muddy bottom. This place was not somewhere Edward wanted to live, but he barely noticed the state of his surroundings until his back collided with the rough surface of the rocks.

He winced, rubbing his back as he moved away from the rock. This was when Edward noticed how desolate everything seemed. He shivered and began to swim, eyes wide as he examined everything around him. It was all so dead. Nothing like Rizenbull.

Edward suddenly frozen when a faint, but familiar voice reached his ears. His head snapped towards the direction from which it had come. Not too far away was an eerie cave. The mere sight of it sent shivers down the blonde's spine. He pushed away the feeling of unease and approached the cave, the voice becoming louder and clearer.

"… plan is completely ruined. That stupid brat just _had_ to find that damn human."

The blonde froze. He knew that voice. It was Envy's! He cautiously swam closer to the mouth of the cave, ears trying their best to pick up as much of the conversation as he could. He bit his lip as an unfamiliar voice joined the conversation. It was female, but it didn't belong to any of the women Edward knew.

"Patience, Envy. I know what I'm doing. This development just means that we'll have to alter our course, but we'll end up at the same destination."

"You better damn hope that you're right, bitch," Envy spat back.

"Oh my. Is that any way to talk to your _mother_?"

Edward nearly choked. That voice belonged to Envy's mother? But, his father had said that she was dead! He bit his lip. He should've have expected his father to lie. After all, this wasn't the first time. Ed calmed himself and tuned back into the conversation.

"Right. Right. Whatever you say, Mom," Envy spat back, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm.

"In any case, Roy should prove quite useful, whether he is a merman or a human. That spell should hold on for quite a while. I doubt that he'll even want to turn back." She laughed.

"Whatever," Envy said unenthusiastically. "Roy's a merman now, or, at least Edward thinks so."

"Perfect. As long as Edward continues to think that his new friend is really a merman then everything is going perfectly."

Edward was frozen, he mouth open in shock, body trembling. His eyes prickled, tears soon beginning to flow freely. The only thing that had registered in his mind was that Roy had lied to him. He bit his lip in anger. Why did everyone lie to him?

The blonde clenched his fists and swam away from the cave as fast as he could. Just when he thought he found someone to love, that person had to go and lie. How could he have been so stupid to not have seen it before? It was just so obvious! More tears were carried away by the current.

'_I'm so stupid.'_

----

**AN:** Well, Edward's found out about Roy's dirty little secret. Anyways. I'll try to update again soon. Don't forget to review!


	7. Chapter Seven

**AN:** I know. I know. About time I updated this right? Mhmm. Yeah. School was just cracking down hard and I had a massive writer's block. Whenever I tried to write this chapter nothing would come out. Seriously. But now I'm back and better than ever. Why? Because I have Winter Break! So yes, enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

----

**U L T R A M A R I N E**

**-7-**

----

"Alphonse, do you have any fours?" Roy asked, his bottom seated comfortably in a golden chair that was cushioned with a plush royal blue pillow. His dark eyes flicked up from the cards he held in his hands to the fish seated across from him. A marble table stood in between them, the surface shimmering ever so slightly when the light hit it at just the right angle.

"Go fish," Alphonse said, grinning happily. Roy cursed his poor luck and plucked yet another card from the pile. His frown grew. He'd managed to grab a ten. He didn't need that.

Sighing, the merman leaned back in his chair, turning his head to look at the expanse of kingdom before him. The two males were currently seated on the main balcony, playing a friendly game of Go Fish that was slowly becoming more a more competitive. Unfortunately for Roy, Alphonse was winning. It seemed that the younger prince had an insane amount of good fortune compared to the dark-haired one.

"Roy? Do you have any threes?" the fish asked, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. Roy looked down at his cards and a look of absolute anguish crossed his face. Now his three threes had fallen prey to Alphonse, Go Fish Master.

"Yes," Roy grumbled, sliding his precious almost-deck over to the smiling prince.

"Thank you," Alphonse said brightly, setting down his own three – the final one – on top of Roy's and completed the set. Prince Roy couldn't help but wince as he watched his cards be claimed by the fifteen-year-old. He'd have to get some good luck at some point, no?

"You're very good at this game," Roy said, clearly dejected that he was losing. Roy Mustang was not keen on losing, nor was he used to it. Alphonse just smiled sweetly like always.

"Thanks, Roy. I can never win against my brother though," the younger of the two males said softly as he rearranged the cards in his hand – fin? Roy's eyes followed the movement of the cards for a moment before turning back to Al's face.

"Why is that?" Roy asked curiously, wondering how Edward beat Alphonse's amazing luck. Seeing the anticipation written clearly on the obsidian-eyed prince, the fish couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Roy, but if you think my brother has some magical skill he uses to win then you're wrong." Roy cocked his head to the side in confusion. "He cheats!"

"Oh," Roy replied softly, lips twisting into a puzzled frown. Alphonse laughed at the prince's expression.

"I can always trust Edward to cheat," the boy-turned-fish replied with a swift nod.

The two then lapsed into a comfortable silence, listening to the clamor rising from the busy city streets. Even though Rizenbull and Armestris were different in many ways, the bustling city life in the underwater kingdom couldn't help but remind Roy of his home. Once again his thoughts turned to what his parents were doing. Had they sent out all the soldiers to scour the entire land for him? Possibly even all the way out to Xing? However, his mind was more focused on if he was ever going to return. The scary part was that he wasn't exactly sure if he even _wanted_ to go back. He'd had this mental conversation with himself already hadn't he?

"Ah, Roy," Alphonse said timidly, tapping the dark-haired male on the shoulder with his fin. Roy snapped out of his thoughts, a confused expression on his face.

"Wuh?" he said lamely, resembling someone who had just woken up. Alphonse let out an airy laugh.

"It's your turn," he said.

"Oh. Um. Do you have any sixes?" he asked, hoping that Alphonse would finally give up _some_ of his cards. Alphonse smiled sweetly.

"Go fish."

Roy cursed his poor luck and drew another card, only to have it snatched away by Alphonse moments later. The prince sighed and leaned back in his seat, gazing down at his cards. Why was he so unlucky? He seemed to have a streak of bad luck that had stayed with him throughout his entire life. How unfortunate for him.

"Do you have any nines?" Roy asked, almost pleading with the other. Alphonse smiled and slid two cards over. The dark-haired male was elated to say the least. He felt like he could jump up and sing praises to whatever god had caused this small victory. Too bad his good mood was shattered only moments later by the younger male after he drew a card from the pile – for the first time – and Roy went again – not getting anything this time.

"Roy, do you have any nines?" the boy said with a bright smile. Roy cried out in frustration, ready to bang his head against the marble wall. However, he managed to restrain himself and stiffly slid the cards over. He'd been so close to getting a full set too.

The game continued on in relative silence. Alphonse basked in his quickly approaching victory and Roy in his imminent defeat. Of course, the younger prince was the one to break the silence once more as the game quickly drew to a close.

"Roy, do you love my brother?" the boy asked, gaze locking on the now shocked Roy. It was obvious that the younger male was being completely and utterly serious with this question. If Roy had been drinking anything then he would've spat it out. Not that it mattered though; it wasn't like the spray of said drink would hit the fish across from him in the face.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Roy asked, wondering if he'd heard Alphonse correctly. Maybe all the seawater was damaging his ears.

"I asked if you liked my brother," Alphonse repeated brightly, smiling in that innocent way of his.

"W-well, yes," Roy replied. Okay. He'd said 'liked' not 'loved'. Maybe he really needed to get his ears cleaned out at some point. "I like your brother. We're friends after all."

"Not _that_ kind of like!" Alphonse shook his head, chuckling softly. "Do you love my brother? Do you like him as more than friends?" Roy quickly averted his gaze, choosing to focus on a rather interesting piece of coral he saw off in the distance. It was a pink one that had rather interesting purple spots. "Roy?" Alphonse asked. "Are you going to answer or not?"

"Maybe," the prince replied, blushing ever so slightly. Alphonse had skills; he'd made Roy Mustang blush.

"I knew it!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "When's the wedding?"

"W-what?" Roy spluttered, quickly looking back at the other male. Sure he'd much rather marry Edward than Riza, but only he could know that. Besides, usually the younger brother of the person you like, who just happens to appear completely innocent, doesn't exactly ask questions like 'when's the wedding?'.

Alphonse sighed and rolled his eyes like Roy was a complete idiot with an IQ of less than sixty. "The wedding? You do realize that my brother has the biggest crush on you, right? He's been trying to tell you, but he's much too shy." He grinned, his expression brightening tenfold. "Will you have any babies? I would like to be an uncle."

"H-he does?" Roy asked, rather surprised. He hadn't noticed that. However, the babies question unnerved him slightly. "Babies?" he questioned, a quizzically.

"It's pretty obvious. The whole kingdom knows about his crush. Brother has never been good at hiding his feelings." Alphonse laughed airily. "And of course! There needs to be at least _one_ heir to the throne. Plus I think Dad's secretly been wanting some grandkids for a while now."

"But," Roy began but let out a sigh instead of finishing his statement. "You know what? Never mind. I'm not even going to ask." He sighed and leaned back in his seat, gaze turning upwards to look at the surface. "So he loves me?"

"Yes."

"I see."

This was rather strange. Many girls had confessed their love over and over to him. So many times in fact that he had written himself a complete rejection speech to deliver each time he had to receive another love confession. But this time it wasn't even a female and the person hadn't even directly confessed their love for him. Heck. This person wasn't even human! Yet, he didn't have that unpleasant feeling of having to dish out yet another rejection. Instead he was happy in a way. He'd received love from many, but this was the first time that it had actually made him happy.

"Roy? Are you alright?" Alphonse questioned, gazing at the other male in a concerned fashion. Roy snapped out of his thoughts, eyes going wide for a moment before he let out a small laugh.

"Ah. Yes. I'm fine. I just zoned out for a minute there. Shall we continue our game?"

"Alright," Alphonse chirped and the game resumed. Roy still ended up losing.

----

Edward let out another sigh as he floated back down onto the large rock formation he'd decided to sit on this time. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes, which were red and puffy from crying. He'd been on his way to the palace, ready to stir up a storm. He'd been prepared to give Roy hell, but then he realized that he had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to go about saying it. This ended up in him sitting down somewhere and rehearsing his speech. It'd come along nicely so far, though he still wasn't happy with it.

He absent-mindedly flicked a small pebble out of the way so he could lie down on his back and stare up at the surface, stare up at the place he longed to be. Another heavy-hearted sigh escaped his lips as he flopped onto his back, arms splayed out.

His chest was filled with a mixture of emotions. First of all there was anger. Anger for being lied to, anger for having to find out the truth this way, anger for his stupidity. Then there was love. Love for Roy, love for the human world, love for the bright future that could still be his. And then there was sadness. Sadness that Roy hadn't trusted him, sadness that he couldn't express himself, sadness that the present was turning out to be so shitty. And finally there was jealousy. Jealousy towards Roy, who was part of the world he longed to be in, jealousy towards all the happy couples out there that he longed to join in blissful partnership, jealousy towards the rock he sat on because it couldn't feel these confusing emotions.

He closed his eyes for a moment, eyelids covering up the molten gold irises. Why him? Why couldn't his life just be normal? Why couldn't he just meet some nice merboy, fall in love, and get married? Why couldn't everything just be that simple? Why did his heart have to ache every time he thought about Roy? It was making this a lot more complicated.

Another tear rolled down his cheek, floating off with the current as he lay there, eyes opening to stare at the surface. How he longed to be able to live above the waves, to be able to walk on two feet and feel the sand between your toes. He'd gladly give up gliding through the waves for that. This underwater 'paradise' held nothing for him. Edward longed to feel the sun on his skin, to dance under the palm trees, to sleep under the stars. He wanted to leave his world behind and go to the one above. He wanted to be part of Roy's world, the human world, but it could never be.

"I wish he'd just leave," he whispered, closing his eyes again. "I wish I never had to see him again. I wish Roy would just disappear." He wiped his cheek and sniffed again. All his anger had melted away, leaving sadness in its wake.

'_You want him to leave?'_ a voice whispered to Edward, its velvety voice creeping into his ear. He quickly shot up, heart thrumming against his ribcage in panic.

"W-who's there," he stammered, looking around, eyes wide. Where had that voice come from? His eyes frantically scanned his surroundings. There was no one there, just the seaweed billowing in the gentle current. "Damn. I must be hallucinating," Edward said with a sigh, massaging his temples.

'_You didn't answer my question, Prince Edward,'_ the voice said. Now Edward was becoming quite worried. There was no one around, so who on earth could this be? He gave his surroundings one last inspection. Nope. No one. Nada.

"Hello?" he questioned, voice quivering slightly. He frowned as he received no response. Maybe he'd just imagined it. He sighed and shook his head. "Damn. Now I'm hearing things," he grumbled. However, just as he was about to push himself off the rock the voice spoke again.

'_My question is still not answered. You're testing my patience, boy.'_

Edward froze. To say that the boy was shocked was an understatement. His head whipped around to look behind him. No one was there. He should've been expecting that. His frown deepened and his brow furrowed. Was he going crazy?

'_Will you please answer my question? My patience has already been worn quite thin. Would you like Roy to disappear? Yes or no?'_

"I-I g-guess so," Edward replied, feeling rather stupid. After all, he could just be talking to thin air. Anyone who was observing this scene unfold would be rather baffled. After all, the prince of Rizenbull didn't just go around talking to the sea currents. It wasn't done.

'_Very well. I shall carry out your wish.'_

"What do you mean?" Edward demanded, his voice free of its previous trembling. "What are you talking about? Who are you?" He questions met only silence. He turned around, trying to find any trace that someone else had been there. "Hello?"

Suddenly a chilly current of water rushed over Edward's rigid frame, causing him to shudder. His eyes closed momentarily as he rubbed at them. A small piece of something had managed to get in his eye and it was irritating him to end now. He finally managed to quell this irritation and opened his eyes once more. However, he was met with a shocking sight.

A woman stood before him, her short dark hair bobbing gently in the suddenly cool waters, full red lips set into a smirk. Iridescent deep purple scales ran all the way up from her fin to just below her collarbone, creating a sort of dress. Nestled within these purple scales sat a few black ones that managed to create a sort of pattern along her sides. Translucent lilac webbing lined the small fins that grew from her sides and sprouted from the tip of her tail as well. The filtered rays of sunlight bounced off her pale skin, causing her to glow ever so slightly and an onyx necklace whose centerpiece was a large amethyst hung around her neck.

She gracefully swam towards the awed prince, hands behind her back. When she was only an arm's length away from the blonde, her smirk turned into a warm smile and she held out a small ornate box that was a deep shade of ultramarine. Diamonds were set into the surface of the box, making it quite aesthetically pleasing. Edward's golden eyes fixed upon it, expression that of confusion.

'_Take it. It shall grant you all of your desires,'_ she murmured, her long black nails clicking lightly against the box's hard surface. _'Hopefully it can grant you the happiness you desire as it did for me.'_

Still at a loss for words, Edward tentatively grasped the box. His eyes scanned every inch of it, taking in each and every elaborate design that littered its surface. When he looked back up to thank the woman she was gone. His brow furrowed once more. People didn't usually vanish like that, but the prince was too excited to think about her sudden absence anymore. In his hands he held the answer to his problems, his key to happiness! But, there was one question that still bothered him: Would it work?

He stared hard at the box in his hands, the gears in his head slowly beginning to turn. It would be a lie to say that Edward wasn't tempted to open said box. The smooth surface felt cool against the soft flesh of his palms. Delicate lips twitched at the corners as if pondering on whether to smile or frown. Confusion, doubt, and excitement crowded his thoughts. Should he try it? Or was the best path to just drop the box and leave? But how could he do that? It would be like throwing away the chance to be happy.

"I want Roy to love me back," he murmured, letting out a small sigh. "That's what I want." Suddenly the boy snorted. "Damn. Now I'm starting to talk to myself. Sheesh."

He shook his head, clutched the box to his chest. He'd come to a decision. He was going to use this box. After all, only something good could happen, right? If it made Roy love him then they could live happily ever after, right? Right. It always happened in those human fairytales he heard, so why couldn't it happen to his life? He deserved some happiness didn't he?

Satisfied with his reasoning, Edward began to make his way back to the castle. Although he no longer wanted Roy to leave, he was still rather angry at the prince. How could he have kept something so big from the blonde? Edward had spent a month thinking that he was just some merman, who'd managed to get caught in a particularly strong current and end up here. He figured that he deserved at least an apology for having secrets kept from him.

----

Roy sighed as he lay sprawled out on the blue couch, belly pressed into the cushions. His expression was sullen. Today was certainly not his day. Alphonse had beaten him two more times at Go Fish and then three more at Poker. Hell, the boy had beat Roy at _Solitaire_. Now that was embarrassing. Too bad his day was only going to get worse.

He let out an angry cry and buried his face in the pillows. Alphonse, who was still out on the balcony, giggled at the prince's frustration. This really didn't help Roy contend with the gaping hole the other had left in his pride. Slowly the young man was picking up the broken pieces of his ego and setting them back into place with lots and lots of glue.

"Fine, Alphonse. You win. I won't ever play cards with you anymore," Roy grumbled. He was clearly not used to loosing. Alphonse let out a light-hearted laugh.

"Oh but why? It was so much fun!" Alphonse replied. Roy snorted.

"Yeah, for you. You won," Roy retorted, eyes flicking over to look at the small fish.

"Sore loser," the youngest prince replied with a small huff. Roy merely grunted in response before lapsing into silence.

The dark-haired prince sighed once more and buried his face back into the soft velvety cushions. Everything was so soft here. It was just insane.

'_Ed's lips were soft too,'_ a voice murmured from the back of his mind. Now Roy flushed pink as the memory of his first encounter with the blonde prince resurfaced. The voice was right; the boy's lips had been incredibly soft against his, like a woman's really. However, the price immediately froze at this thought, halting all thought processes momentarily.

'_Stop thinking like that,'_ he scolded himself, frowning deeply, _'It hadn't even been a real kiss. It was just the get me to breathe, that's all. Stop digging into things that aren't there.'_

He waited for a witty retort from the voice, but it never came. Well, that was a surprise. Roy had been having a lot of these sorts of fights with himself lately. This was the first time that the voice had actually shut itself up, which actually made Roy feel slightly better. After all, it was rather disconcerting when you had a fight with yourself.

Now everything had lapsed into a relative silence, which left the prince to bask in the quiet. It was the first time in days that he hadn't had someone talking to him. Either Alphonse or Edward was at his heels, jabbering on about who knows what. Roy didn't particularly mind, but really, the silence was a welcome thing indeed. Too bad Edward had to go about and ruin it by deciding to burst in at that very moment.

"Roy Bastard!" he snarled, eyes flashing with hurt and anger. Now that sparked Roy's interest. What on earth had he done this time? Edward sure looked pissed indeed. The boy had even used the 'pet name' he'd created for Roy.

"That's Mr. Roy Bastard to you," Roy replied with a smirk, not quite understanding why he liked to tease Edward so much, but he really didn't have time to ponder it right now. He lazily lifted his head up, propping himself up on his elbow, chin resting in his upturned palm. Edward's face contorted in anger, cheeks flushing and lips twisting into a deep frown.

"You lied to me," Edward said, voice dangerously low as he set the small box down on the table. He was still carrying it. Roy let his gaze rest on the box for a moment, briefly wondering what was inside, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the blonde.

"Oh? I did?" the man asked, smirk disappearing briefly to make room for a look of shock and confusion. Edward snorted and slammed his hands down on the couch's armrest, leaning towards Roy, so close that their noses almost touched.

"Yes. You did," Edward replied. Although his angry mask covered it up, his heart was beating fast by being this close to the other male. His stomach was filled with fluttering butterflies and if he hadn't been in tropical water he'd have broken out in a sweat.

"Do tell," Roy replied, feeling a little bit of the same fluttering feeling of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. His dark eyes were once again drawn to those beautiful lips that Edward possessed and thoughts of kissing them ran through his head, but he quickly repressed them and mentally scolded himself. No. He would not go and suck face with Edward, especially not while the boy was so mad.

"You're a human," Edward hissed softly in Roy's ear. This caused the prince's eyes to widen, but he quickly collected himself and promptly released a snort.

"Edward, that is an absolutely ridiculous accusation," the young man replied, "Obviously I am not human." He flicked his tail. "See?" Edward rolled his eyes and let his stony gaze settle back on Roy. This made Roy swallow hard, but he did not falter.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," the blonde sneered. Okay, so maybe his tone was a bit more venomous than he'd intended, but at least it got the point across. Roy was starting to pale and stiffen. The young man was becoming panicky, gaze quickly averting Edward's.

"I'm not a book," Roy replied coolly, finally getting his bearings and locking gazes with the blonde. This cause the younger prince to frown, brows knitting together.

"Whatever," he snorted. "You're still human."

"Edward, did you hit your head on something?" Roy asked, staring at the boy, expression suddenly blank. The prince had set his mask in place, blocking off any and all emotion he felt from reaching the outside world.

"No, I didn't!" Edward snapped, growing slightly more irritated. "I know you're human! Just fess up!" Roy rolled his eyes.

"I'm not human," the prince replied, pushing himself off the couch. He didn't know much more hammering from Edward he could take until he cracked. If he cracked and told the truth, who knew what could happen? "I'm a merman just like you. Even if you're too _small_ to see that."

"Who are you calling small enough to live in a sea monkey egg!" the blonde screeched as he flew into a fit of rage, golden eyes narrowing. Roy laughed at Edward's response. He smirked and turned to partially face the angry prince.

"You," the dark-haired man replied, but instantly regretted it as Edward tackled him, the weight of the other boy causing him to quickly lose his balance and crash into the table upon which the box sat.

"Take it back!" Edward snarled as his fist collided with Roy cheek. There would be a nice bruise there at some point. Roy let out a small grunt of pain as the back of his head smashed into the table again. He'd have one hell of a headache thanks to that.

"Get off of me!" Prince Roy snapped, palms trying to push the irate blonde off of him. He managed to reverse the roles. Now Edward was lying beneath him, struggling with all his might to get free. The boy snarled and spouted off the most obscene phrases Roy had ever heard. He'd never even heard of some of those words being used in such a fashion.

The two males continued to fight and roll around for a bit, both struggling to get the upper hand. Alphonse swam above, trying to calm the two princes down. Finally Roy managed to catch Edward off guard and propel him into the air using his tail. The blonde let out a cry as he crashed into the table, causing it to topple over. Edward's eyes grew wide when he saw the box smash into the ground, lid popping open.

"Shit!" Edward cursed as he lifted himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder and back. The blonde let out a low hiss as a purple glow sprang forth from the box. At first one might consider it beautiful, but the deep purple quickly morphed into an angry pitch black.

"Edward?" Roy questioned, eyes wide as he watched the tentacles of black spring forth from the box. A high-pitched wailing that could easily make one's ears bleed rang throughout the room. Alphonse had chosen this time to dart behind the couch, shaking as he watched the darkness seep upwards, rising into a wispy column.

"Y-yeah?" the blonde asked, frozen on the spot as he watched the scene before him. What in god's name was coming out of that box? The screeching grew louder, like nails on a chalkboard. The blonde cringed, clamping his hands over his ears. Roy had done the same already.

"What the hell is that?" Roy shouted, but he knew it was futile. The screams were so unbearably loud that Edward would never be able to hear him. The cloud of black flashed, angry deep purple streaks piercing through the dark. "Holy shit," the prince murmured while the blonde stared in terrified awe.

Between flashes of purple and red, the dark energy began to seep out, tendrils of it creeping towards Roy. Said prince was petrified. He'd never seen something like this, ears ringing from the noise, not even his hands could block it all out. Suddenly the darkness flared and the entire column rushed towards the dark-haired man, smashing into him with immense force. All the breath was knocked out of his lungs, leaving him gasping as spluttering as he was drawn up into the air.

"Roy!" someone called out. Roy couldn't distinguish the voice. Perhaps it was Ed, perhaps Alphonse. The young man would never know for sure as he was roughly jerked upwards.

At first the man felt nothing but an unpleasant stinging sensation as he was drawn into the whirlpool of purple, red, and black. He scrunched his eyes shut, trying to ignore the nausea that was beginning to surface. Then a sharp stabbing pain in the side of his fin made itself known, causing Roy to gasp.

"Roy!"

There is was again, but Roy's attention was fixed on the agonizing burning sensation that was filling up his entire lower body, moving from the waist downwards. His vision was blurry and his breaths were sharp and shallow. Each breath was becoming more difficult and soon it felt like he wasn't getting any oxygen. He wheezed, eyes watering as he thrashed about.

"E-Ed," he gasped, clutching his chest, "W-what's happening?" He coughed again, shuddering as another sharp stab of pain hit him, piercing through the burning feeling already set in place. Roy suddenly kicked out with one of his legs. Wait. Legs? What was going on here? His eyes grew wide as he looked down. His scaly fish tail was gone, replaced with the two legs he'd known all his life.

There was this dark irony clinging to the situation that Roy just wanted to laugh at. The legs he'd been wanting back had returned to him, but now he didn't want them. He wanted his fin and tail; he wanted his gills – had he even had those? – but now he had no choice in the matter. Right now he was too busy suffocating to even think properly, brain slowly shutting itself down from lack of oxygen.

Edward gaped at the now human Roy Mustang. The black whirlpool had returned to the confines of the box, the lid closed tight. The blonde had never actually _seen_ a human this close before. It was quite fascinating for him actually. Right there in front of him were the legs he so desperately wanted. However, he was rather confused about what was sitting in between Roy's legs. What in the world was it? Edward had never seen anything like it. _He_ certainly didn't have one. However, his fascination was short-lived when Roy began to make small pleading noises and tried to swim towards the surface.

"Shit," Edward cursed, immediately scooping up the other male and pressing his lips to Roy's. The other prince clung to the blonde, lungs burning, mind screaming for air. He opened his mouth a bit and gratefully accepted the little air that passed from Edward's body into his.

The amount of air he received certainly wasn't enough to fuel his body with enough energy to propel him towards the surface, but it was enough to drown out the burning in his chest and the constant blare of emergency sirens going off in his head. Everything was starting to go a little fuzzy, all noise drowned out in an annoying buzzing sound and his surroundings bleeding into one giant muddle picture that was starting to give him a massive headache.

His dark eyes looked pleadingly at Edward, who had already pulled away and was moving towards the surface. Gold met black for a split second, but soon Edward pulled his gaze away, concentrating on getting Roy above water. After all, humans didn't last very long without adequate oxygen, Edward knew that much, which left one option, head towards the surface.

Roy felt helpless as Edward propelled them towards the surface. He could swim nowhere as fast now, especially not when he barely had enough oxygen in him to remain conscious. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep everything from going out of focus. Why weren't they at the surface yet? They must be almost there. They _had_ to be. The burning in his lungs was back full force; they felt like they were about to burst. His grip on Edward tightened for a moment, causing the other boy to look down at Roy.

"We're almost there," the blonde said. His voice seemed like it was muffled by thick layers of cotton. Roy could barely make out what he was saying. Everything seemed to have slowed down, like in those martial arts movies he'd watched non-stop when he was still a child. Then they broke the surface without warning and Roy gratefully sucked in the air before lapsing into a coughing fit.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked worriedly, brow creased in concern. Roy gave another cough and a weak nod. The blonde prince let out a sigh of relief. Roy wasn't dead that was good; however, the black-haired prince was rapidly beginning to fade out of awareness.

"E-Edward?" Roy whispered, voice hoarse and slightly shaky. "I'm s-sorry. I s-should've told you." He shivered as a particularly chilly sea breeze blew through. Edward's lips pulled back into a small slightly crooked smile.

"It's alright," he replied. No matter how hard he tried, Edward couldn't stay mad at Roy forever. Besides, the other had apologized, that was what he'd wanted in any case. "Roy," Edward began, swallowing nervously before continuing. "I-I have something to tell you." He fidgeted slightly before pressing his lips to the other prince's forehead.

Now, by this time Roy was almost completely gone. His eyes were half-lidded, what he saw completely blurred. He barely even felt Edward's lips brush against the wet skin of his forehead. Everything inside him was beginning to shut down. Finally his eyes slipped closed and he fell unconscious, but not before four words drifted through the thick haze inside his head.

"_I love you, Roy."_

----

"_Do you think he'll be alright?"_

"_I dunno."_

"_Don't just stand there! Help the prince!"_

The voices pierced through the thick haze Roy was trapped in. He let out a small groan and let his face scrunch up a bit. The dark-haired prince shifted around, frowning at the rough grainy feeling beneath him. Where was he? Slowly, he cracked open his eyes and looked around, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"_He's awake! He's awake!"_

The cries of seagulls filled the air and the smell of the sea was strong. Roy could even hear the gentle lapping of the waves as the washed up against the shore. The water tickled the man's feet, washing up against the soles. He was on the beach. Now this just left one more question, why?

He let out another groan as he slowly brought himself into a sitting position, earning cries of jubilation from the people crowded around him. His fingers ran through his dark lock, snagging often on unruly clumps. Roy frowned when he looked down and saw his bare body cover in sand, not one inch of his pale skin had been left untouched.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked, trying his best to ignore the throbbing in his head. The cries of jubilation quickly faded as the crowd scurried about, trying to find the prince a cover of sorts. After all, the Prince of Armestris was never supposed to be completely exposed, especially not in public.

A thick forest green blanket was thrust towards him, which he took with a dignified air and pulled it around himself. Although he seemed completely impassive, Roy was completely mortified. _No one _saw him without his clothes. Not even his own _mother. _

"What happened?" he asked, carefully picking himself up off the ground. His legs shook beneath him, but that did not deter him from his mission. He wanted to stand and so stand he shall. Not even the gods could keep Prince Roy Mustang of the Armestris Royal Family from doing what he wished.

Roy's question met blank stares, which was something he did not particularly appreciate. He wanted an answer. After all, when you wake up naked on the beach with an unpleasant soreness in your lower body _something_ must have happened.

"W-we d-don't know Your H-Highness," one of the palace guards stuttered. Roy identified him easily enough. After all, no one stuttered as much as the ever timid Kain Fuery.

Roy let out a displeased grunt. He'd figure it out later. Right now all he wanted was to go home, take a nice hot shower, and crawl into bed. The prince was too tired to do anything now, even think. Besides, the pounding in his head was becoming more and more unpleasant with each passing second. What he wouldn't give for some painkillers and a cup of nice hot tea.

"I want to go home," he said, pulling the blanket even tighter around his wet and sandy frame. Immediately after the words left his mouth, he was ushered into a carriage and brought to his castle. Once he arrived his parents had of course showered him with kisses and affection, raving about how they'd been so worried. Roy tuned them out. How long had he been 'missing' anyways and where had he gone?

Finally he managed to pry his parents off of him and slip upstairs, far away from the overjoyed crowds. Roy was in a sour mood and didn't want to be pestered right now, so his leaving was natural. Besides, he was covered in sand, which was mighty uncomfortable. He was going to wash it off as soon as possible.

The shower had been hot, brief, and exactly what he needed. Roy came out feeling refreshed, warm, and above all sand-free. Then he pulled on his pajamas and crawled into his bed, which was more like a sea of blankets and pillows. In any case it was heaven for a certain Roy Mustang.

Letting out a small noise of happiness and contentment, the prince drifted into a pleasurable sleep filled with fantastical undersea kingdoms, talking fish, and a familiar blonde merboy that laughed and sparkled with the radiance of a thousand suns.

----

**AN:** I hope this long chapter makes up for my incredibly long absence. It's 12 pages long and 6,379 words. That's a lot for me. I hope you all with forgive me and continue to review anyways even if the author is a total bum. So yeah. I'll update when I can. Mm. This is not the end by the way. Just wanted to clarify that.


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